PARKERSBURG - Disaster recovery in Parkersburg and other area communities continues.

Because of that, 100 workers thrown out of their jobs by last spring's tornadoes and floods and the economic calamities that followed have found employment, thanks to federal money.

In the last seven months, the Hawkeye Community College branch of Iow@tWork, a regional program of Iowa Workforce Development, has been funding jobs in Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler and Grundy counties.

"We pay the prevailing wage," said Jeanie Wright, associate director of the program. "Whatever the wage is for that job in a certain area, that's what we'll pay."

Compensation ranges from about $8.50 to $17 an hour - an average of $12.53 per hour - plus 39 cents per mile to and from work sites, she said.

The funding comes from a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. More than $300,000 has been spent providing dislocated workers jobs in disaster recovery and on cleanup equipment some cities might have difficulty buying or renting, Wright said.

In Parkersburg, a crew of 11 workers is busy putting pieces together scattered by last May's tornado.

"They have been doing a heck of a job," said Scott Barrett, water department supervisor for the city of Parkersburg. "We have cut a lot of branches that had fallen because of the tornado. They've cleaned debris off the streets, helped rebuild shelter houses at the swimming pool park. I had one guy rebuilding water meters that came from houses that were damaged."

The benefits are multiple, Wright said.

"For one thing, we are the employer of record," she said. "We carry workers comp. We purchase the needed safety equipment. All the work they have to do is provide supervision and provide time sheets."

Suzy Schlette, work force development specialist with Hawkeye's program, said there are plenty of practical benefits to the communities.

"I've been talking to some of the mayors, and when FEMA does a house buyout, that property becomes public, and we can send participants in to demolish it and put the stuff into the struck," Schlette said. "That could be a huge savings for the city."

Public and private nonprofit entities can use the work crews.

"The Iowa Department of Transportation has utilized our crews to go out in Black Hawk and Bremer counties to clean ditches," Wright said.

"They track time and attendance, and we pay the wages."

Workers have been in Parkersburg since July, Wright said.

There are a few catches, however. An individual position can last no more than 1,040 hours, which equates to six months of 40-hour weeks, Wright said.

"When their time is up, they have to be replaced; that's exactly what we're running into in Parkersburg," she said. "They're all running into their time limit."

But, that's also an opportunity for a potential replacement.

"We're cycling new people into their site," Wright said. The grant money expires in June 2010.

" There's work that can last for a long time, and we can provide that," she said.

Most of the jobs require manual labor.

"They're operating chain saws, wood chippers, pick axes and backhoes, emptying sandbags, clearing ditches and removing downed branches," Wright said.

Applicants need to meet one or more of three criteria in order to qualify for the work:

They were displaced as a direct result of last summer's disaster.

They are out of work due to plant closures or layoffs and are eligible for unemployment or have exhausted their unemployment benefits.

Workers affected by layoffs at O'Neal Steel or Terex could qualify under that criterion, Wright noted.

Workers have been jobless for 15 of 26 weeks.

It also helps to have a driver's license, Wright noted.

"That was one thing that was frustrating for a lot of applicants," she said. "If we have a site that's walking distance, we'll try to place them there, but if you have to drive to George Wyth or Black Hawk parks, or Parkersburg, you have to have a driver's licence."

Applicants typically have to pass criminal background checks as well.

The jobs have drawn heavy interest, Wright said.

"We had waiting lists last fall, but because it was winter and the jobs slowed down, that has diminished somewhat," Wright said. "We're seeing the need to pick it up again."

To apply, call (319) 291-2546 and ask for the disaster recovery project, Wright said.

She cautioned the screening process could take awhile.

"It can last 10 minutes, or it could last two weeks," she said. "This isn't going to be an instant paycheck."

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.